A Quintessential Female “Lovable Rogue”

Faith Lehane: last week’s rogue, mostly lovable… 😉

So-o, last week I logged my thirteenth(!) Having Fun With Epic Fantasy post (sixteen if I count the [first] three posted on the late, great SF Signal — woo-hoo!)

If you checked in last week, you’ll know that post #13 featured that great archetype the “lovable rogue.” One interesting realization (among many, I hope 😉 ) was that while male lovable rogues are numerous, female lovable rogues are much harder to find, both in Fantasy storytelling, but also among the myth and legends, folklore and fairytales that are the genre’s bedrock.

They’re also comparatively rare in the mainstream, underlining my reflection that this archetypal gap “…may reflect on the extremely narrow place occupied by women in traditional societies — a narrow scope reflected in storytelling and with no “halfway” houses, such as the “lovable rogue”, between “good” and “bad.””

On Twitter, Elizabeth Knox responded that “maybe” there were more examples to be found in Children’s storytelling, such as Pippi Longstocking and Little My (in Tove Jannson’s Moomin books.) I’m inclined to agree with this, as in the children’s ‘verse the “lovable rogue” overlaps the “urchin”/”larrikin”, which is a territory occupied by both male and female characters.

Lyra Belacqua

Think Huck Finn and Jo March, for example, as well as more contemporary, and younger, examples such as Lyra Belacqua in the Golden Compass series and Peri (in Patrica McKillip’s The Changeling Sea.)

Commenting directly on the post, Andrew mentioned The Robber Girl, a 1980s short story from the DAW anthology Amazons II. I’ve since read the story and agree with Andrew: the titular robber girl is indeed a lovable rogue. She’s also a “what happens after” reimagining of Hans Christian Andersen’s Little Robber Girl from The Snow Queen. (Another children’s story…)

Reflecting further myself, I did realise that the folk/fairy-tale character of Baba Yaga has trickster qualities, although she is more fearsome than lovable. I also realised that I had missed a character that I believe may count as Fantasy’s preeminent female lovable rogue, but also heroine: Katniss Everdeen of The Hunger Games fame.

I know, how could I have overlooked Katniss? My only excuse is that Katniss’s heroic qualities obscured that she is, in fact (or so I maintain and averr), a “rogue” character — and also a very lovable one. An obvious folklore comparison would be Robin Hood…

Katniss Everdeen

Looking beyond Fantasy, Markus Zusak’s Liesel, in The Book Thief, is also a lovable rogue — but when I cast my mind back twenty more years, I recalled what I consider the quintessential female “lovable rogue” of recent times: Susan, in the film, Desperately Seeking Susan — a role made memorable by Madonna in her rise to fame.

Susan, imho, ticks all the “lovable rogue” boxes: like Han Solo, she’s “cynical and mercenary and out for…[herself]…until the chips are down, at which point…[she]…comes through for…[her friends.] Again like Han Solo, Susan “also has considerable charm” while being very much a trickster, albeit at the mischievous and light-fingered end of the spectrum.

Susan: an iconic ‘lovable rogue’

I had to rewatch the film, just to confirm that I was right in my view—and found it stands up to the test of time, and is still a lighthearted but also subversive—and very appealing—romp. According to Wikipedia (so it must be true 😉 ) “The film captures the feel of the underground Bohemian/new wave scene of the early to mid-1980s New York City…” Either way, if you’ve never seen it, I’d recommend checking it out.